Vmrc To Fund Seafood Marketing

August 26, 1998|By Daily Press

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted to give up to $60,000 to the marketing arm of Virginia's seafood industry to counteract negative publicity that might arise from an outbreak of the toxic micro-organism Pfiesteria piscicida.

Some of the money, $35,000, will be spent immediately on video and photographs for the media, as well as face-to-face meetings with newspaper reporters and editors throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Another $25,000 would pay for additional media materials and advertising only if there is a Pfiesteria outbreak.

The Virginia Marine Products Board, a marketing organization appointed by the governor and funded through industry license fees, asked for the money to ``ensure a positive, proactive message is disseminated throughout the Pfiesteria season.''

The money will come from a fund comprised of commercial fishing license fees that is administered by the VMRC.

Sales of Chesapeake Bay fish and shellfish fell off sharply during last year's outbreak, particularly in places like Washington and Baltimore where Pfiesteria was widely covered by the media.

Seafood industry officials believe much of that coverage was misleading and that people's fears were unjustified.